I Found You
by IL0veP0keSpe
Summary: He'll always be looking. Lightis.
1. What He's Like

A/N: This popped up in my head, and needed to be written out. Yay!

Chapter 1: **What He's Like**

* * *

**Prologue**

The flag went up. The teen yawned. He really didn't want to have to go through this. He wanted to get out and scare the shit out of someone. He didn't want his first day in college to be boring.

"_I welcome you all to your new life_…"

He looked around. His best friend—sorry, best _friends_ grinned at him. He grinned back.

"…_together, at one another's side_…"

Couldn't the principal hurry up and finish his speech?

He checked his watch. The time he could be a-pranking was a-ticking.

"…_trust in one another, never leave each other_…"

A few more minutes and he would be ready to snooze.

"…_and with this, I hope you will be happy_."

Was it over? Thank God. The few sentences he had been able to catch sounded less like an inspirational speech than a sappy love song.

He wanted to bolt straight away, but the teachers, including his old upperclassman, herded the freshmen into neat lines and led them out of the auditorium.

He groaned inwardly. He hated following, but in this case, he had no choice, especially not when _that_ teacher was looking at him sternly. (He felt she had no right, though, seeing she used to be his pal.)

Then he saw it.

A head of pink hair, so pink, that the owner probably had no problem standing out.

He tried to give chase, but another teacher was looking at him and he had no chance.

The pink disappeared.

But he didn't know why he was still so fascinated with it.

Up until now.

* * *

"Shit!"

"_Language_, Mr. Caelum!"

A raven-haired teen laughed and made faces at his teacher. "Aww, c'mon Luna, can't you let me have a little fun?"

The teacher stiffened up. "You will address me as Ms. Sola, Mr. Caelum, and nothing else."

The teen laughed. Luna gave it up as a hopeless case and dismissed him. She didn't have the energy to send him to detention.

As he turned to leave—laughing as he did so—Luna stopped him.

"I may only be a few years older than you, Noctis…" she began, calling him by name.

She slapped him.

"But fuck with me again, and you'll see where it ends up."

Noctis' eyes widened. His teacher's use of language meant she was serious.

He turned to leave—again. "Whatever you say, _Ms. Sola_."

Luna sighed. "I'll take it."

* * *

"Yo, Noct!"

Noctis grinned. He knew that voice.

"Hey." A blond male stood in front of him, hands behind his head, and smirked. "Luna caught you?" he asked.

"Yeah…I still can't believe she actually said, 'Fuck!'" Noctis groaned.

"Whoa, she did?"

"Yeah, Prompto." Prompto was his best friend—_one _of his best friends. There was Ignis too, but…well, Ignis was too wrapped up in his social media world to be too much of a best friend to Noctis.

Sophomores in college, Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis, (although it was mostly just with the first two) lived the carefree life of immaturity. The teachers never really knew what to do with them—they were troublemakers, but they constantly pulled off amazing marks, so they were never sure whether to punish or praise them. It was annoying and frustrating for the teachers, who knew that whether they _did_ praise or punish them, the boys wouldn't care either way.

Now Noctis was slightly more immature than Prompto. Whereas Prompto held a wee bit of respect for the teachers, never cursing in front of them, Noctis simply did not care. But it wasn't because he was rude, or anything. It was because he simply thought teachers to be people to be messed with, people slightly older than he. That was the case especially with Luna Sola, who had been their upperclassman and friend in high school.

Now she was a teacher though, (they couldn't believe it) and they couldn't, as she put it, _fuck_ with her so easily. Of course, as she had been a model student, that was never easy to begin with.

"Hey, Prompt…" began Noctis.

"Hmm?"

"Wanna hit the canteen and see if those freshmen are ready to get their butts whooped?"

"Oh man, I am _so _ there."

Both guys ran off.

…

Hours later, they went back to their dorms, looking considerably happier.

"Did you see the look on that kid's face when he sat on the milk?"

"I did, although I have to say, that was a lame prank."

"Then what about when I got that guy to make out with his twin brother's girlfriend, who, might I add, seemed not to notice at all that her boyfriend was considerably different?"

"That was a considerably less lame prank."

_Wake up! Grab a brush and put on a little make up!~_

"Ah, shit. Hang on, Prompt, I gotta take this," said Noctis, taking out his phone. "What's up? Oh…Hi, Ignis."

Prompto flinched a bit. Why would Ignis, the _perfect celebrity_, the, _oh-so-busy business tycoon_, be calling?

"Yeah? Really?"

Prompto held his breath. He suddenly remembered something Noctis' father had told Ignis and he a few months ago, something they had to keep secret from Noctis.

"He WHAT?!"

Prompto cursed. So did the old man finally decide to tell his son?

"SERIOUSLY? He wants me to—Oh, hell no."

Prompto had to admit, this was pretty funny.

"Someone I don't even know? What? You saying he wants me to tell him something? Tell him from me to go fuck himself! That doesn't count? Well, _go fuck yourself_!"

Noctis hung up and dropped his phone. It didn't break, but Noctis looked broken. And furious.

"What was it?" asked Prompto, knowing full well what it was.

"Dad—no, he doesn't deserve me calling him that! That fucktard wants me to date some chick from some rich company! Just so he and the father of the bitch could make business deals and shit!"

Prompto tried looking sympathetic and only succeeded in smirking like an idiot.

Fortunately, Noctis didn't notice. He started pacing.

"Man! I can't believe he's doing this! Especially when I've almost found her—"

He stopped dead in his tracks.

_Oops._

"Her? Who's '_her_?'" Prompto asked.

"Forget about it," Noctis sighed heavily. He, on the other hand couldn't forget about the girl he'd seen on his first day.

He couldn't forget her pink hair, nor could he forget the feeling of fascination he'd felt that day.

He'd seen her yesterday. Caught a glimpse of pink hair. He'd started chasing after it, but unfortunately Ignis had stopped him, telling him about a meeting his father would be having. It had taken only a few measly seconds, but those measly seconds had cost him. He lost sight of the pink, and he didn't see it again.

_First that incident yesterday, now this call! Ignis, I'm going to fucking kill you_, thought Noctis.

Prompto looked concernedly at his friend. Try as Noctis might to hide it, Prompto knew that he had his eyes on a certain girl.

Ever since the first day, Prompto knew.

This must have been hard for Noctis, as he had no choice but to follow his father's orders, lest he screw up his inheritance. His inheritance which equaled to billions of dollars worth of companies and other social media crap.

And Prompto felt guilty that he couldn't help his best friend.

Noctis turned.

"Say…Prompto, would you mind coming with me?"

The blond tilted his head.

"The fucktard…Dad, wants me to meet that Farron girl. He—he wants me to get to know her. And…I just didn't want to go alone."

Prompto was surprised at the sudden display of sensitivity.

"Sure. I'll go. Wanna see what happened with the twins and the girl before we go?" Prompto smiled evilly.

Noctis brightened up. "You're on!"

* * *

Half an hour, they were at Noctis' dad's main building.

No matter how many times he had been here, Prompto couldn't help but be amazed. An office building though it may be, it had lovely marble walls. In the main lobby, there was a fountain, and the first floor was more like a mall than a typical office first floor.

Then the elevators were made of glass, so you could see outside as you went zooming up.

The tiles were made with the finest stones, and nearly all the receptionists—hell, nearly all the employees were damn good-looking. The place looked too surreal to be an office.

And Mr. Caelum, Noctis' father, was the CEO and owner of it all.

As they rode up the glass elevator, Noctis was uncharacteristically quiet. Prompto played the part of a sympathetic best friend through and through this time around, and kept quiet as well.

The CEO's son didn't even try to push all the buttons on the elevator—something he always insisted on doing. It was a sign that he was in a really, _really_ bad mood.

When he got to the topmost floor, the fifteenth floor, he saw his father there, smiling.

As if he were mocking him.

Prompto stood on the side as the CEO talked to his son, the latter nodding dejectedly every now and again.

"Alright, son, let me introduce, Miss Farron to you."

A door opened, as if on cue, and an inhumanely beautiful girl stepped out.

Prompto's eyes widened.

Noctis froze.

_Shit_.

* * *

A/N: Yay suspense! But of course you know who the girl is, I presume? Anyway, leave a review! I'll update soon, if I can devour my lazy ass and get myself to type.

Next Chapter: **What She's Like**


	2. What She's Like

A/N: Hello, my smexy readers! Second chapter of "I Found You," is up! :youdontsay:

I hope you like it! R&R. (If you've read my profile, you'll know that R&R has a different meaning for me.)

Chapter 2: **What She's Like**

* * *

Lightning was having a bad ten minutes of it.

Miss Sola was handing out their test papers. It had been a test in English, and as a bonus question, the teacher had tacked on the following question: _As a child, how did you often spend your free time?_

Lightning had meant to answer, "Playing around with a toy I like," but unfortunately—she had no idea how this happened—she'd written, "Playing around with a _boy_ I like."

She was working up a sweat as Miss Sola reached her desk. "Full marks again, Miss Lightning," the young teacher smiled. "Although…your last answer was rather…surprising. I wouldn't have thought that the model student used to have a hobby like that."

_You would've been right in not thinking so, except my hand seemed to have other ideas_, thought Lightning.

But she decided to chill. She'd gotten full marks—Miss Sola didn't seem to mind her awful answer—and she supposed there was no way her classmates could know her answer.

_Oops_.

Wrong thought.

At lunchtime, as Lightning sat down to eat a croissant sandwich, her baby sister, Serah, currently a freshman, bounced up to her.

"Lightning, I didn't know you liked boys as a child!" she exclaimed.

Lightning sighed.

Not just because she was annoyed her answer had been revealed—no, not annoyed, she was flat-out furious—but because of the way Serah had phrased her sentence. She had made it sound as if Lightning had been straight in childhood, then had grown up to be a lesbian. Which was not the case.

Definitely not.

Lightning was one of those blessed creatures who appeared to have been gifted with everything. She was drop-dead gorgeous, with pink hair (a color not everyone could pull off) and crystal-like green eyes (a color combination few people could also pull off). She was rich, a daughter of the owner of a multi-billion business empire—not that she cared much, though. She was also smart. Like, _genius_ smart. Hell, her science professor, who detested co-eds, couldn't floor her.

And she was _nice_. A trait commonly lacked by popular people. She was also tough. You could see her and think, "Oh, what a fine-looking girl. She must be so nice."

You would be right, but the moment some dumbass fucked with her—or anyone she cared about, for that matter—she'd pull a Bruce Lee on the punk faster than you could say, "I was horribly wrong."

That said, she was definitely not a lesbian. That didn't mean she turned girls into lesbians, though.

Yes, she was popular enough to have admiration from both sexes—although it was still mostly with males.

"Serah, it was a mistake. I'd meant to write _toy_ but had accidentally written _boy_. So, I didn't have a crush on any boy as a kid. Or now, for that matter," she explained.

"Do you have a crush on a girl?"

"Hell—sorry, no." Lightning mentally slapped herself. A person like her was not allowed to curse. It was beneath her.

Serah was satisfied and kept quiet. She loved her older sister more than anything in the world, and always felt that whatever she said was right. So if Lightning said she had never had a crush on a boy—or a girl—then she had never had a crush on a boy—or a girl.

After eating her ice cream, Serah bounced away. Lightning remained at the table and silently mused what she would say if anyone confronted her about her disgraceful answer.

Then she saw it.

That head of raven-black hair.

_It's him. Again._

She resisted the temptation to give chase. Some bullshit would probably interrupt her again, and she'd miss him. She didn't want to waste any energy.

Still, it was hard remaining at her table. Especially when he was so near—ah, but there, he was gone again. It had only been for but a moment.

Lightning had never told anyone, but she harbored a small (she'd never say otherwise) crush on the owner of that raven hair. Ever since the first term of her second year in school.

* * *

_She left the classroom. She wanted to drop by the canteen though, to get some ice cream for Serah, preferably strawberry._

_Walking down the path, she saw the girl herself—Serah was standing nearby. Lightning diverted her path and started to walk to her, but noticed something was wrong._

_Lightning stopped in her tracks._

_Hell no._

_That couldn't be…was it? Shit, it was!_

_Standing—more like towering, actually—over Serah was Sephiroth, the worst, the absolute worst bully in the school. What was Serah doing with him? She didn't belong around him!_

_As Lightning analyzed the situation, she saw that Serah looked on the verge of tears. Sephiroth and his two goons had sick smiles on their faces._

"_Y-you better not do that!" Serah tried her best to sound threatening. "L-Lightning…my sister will get really mad at you!"_

_Sephiroth snorted. "I wasn't aware that the campus belle had anything to do with matters of business. Now, are you clear on what I'm going to do, or do I have to repeat myself and prolong the agony?"_

_Serah sniffled and didn't speak._

"_Good girl." Sephiroth flashed one of his sick smiles again. He drew his fist back._

_Lightning's senses went into overdrive. This guy—no, this bastard monster was about to hit her sister. She was too far to help._

_Dare she run? Was she going to be able to run fast enough to block the unforgiving punch?_

_Right before she moved though, another figure came out._

"_Hey, hey, now, Sepphie, there's no need to get violent now, is there?"_

_The new guy had black hair, and an easy smile. Despite the circumstances, Lightning knew that if they had met someone elsewhere, he would've been one of the few guys that were able to annoy her._

"_Shame on you, Sepphie! Look at you, hitting a girl—I knew you'd fallen, but this low? I didn't think you were capable!"_

_Sephiroth snarled. "Watch your mouth. Just because I didn't hit this _darling_, doesn't mean I won't hit _you_."_

_The new guy winced. "Ah, you wouldn't, would you? Never mind—" he said, raising his hand to stop Sephiroth as the big guy opened his mouth to answer. "Don't answer that. The point is, it's shameless for you to hit a girl, especially a girl as cute as her. So, for once, I'm playing the good guy—Don't hit her, Sepphie."_

"_DON'T CALL ME THAT!"_

_Sephiroth lunged at the new guy. He sidestepped easily, and as Sephiroth fell over from his momentum, the raven-haired boy gave him a sharp jab with his elbow._

"_You fucking prick! I'm going to fucking kill you!" screamed Sephiroth._

_Lightning had seen enough. It was fine to let the guy save her sister—she couldn't do anything about that. But she wasn't going to let some random guy be pummeled on her watch. That would simply not do._

_She stepped in. "Hey, _Sepphie_," she drawled, putting emphasis on the hated nickname. "Wanna brawl?"_

"_A girl to hit. Perfect," smiled Sephiroth. "Prepare to die, bitch!"_

_Lightning moved so fast no one was sure what happened. But the next moment, she appeared not to have moved at all, yet Sephiroth was on the ground, groaning and incapable of movement._

"_That—" Lightning cracked her knuckles. "—is what happens when you mess with my little sister."_

_She turned to thank the unknown guy, but he was gone. Rather rude of him, she thought._

"_Oh, Lightning!" Serah cried. She threw her arms around her sister. "I was so scared!"_

"_Shh…" Lightning soothed her. "It's alright. Nothing's going to hurt you now."_

_She would always remember that raven-haired boy. And she would always be looking for him._

* * *

_~You think I'm pretty, without any make up on~_

_My phone_, Lightning thought, and she dove into her bag to get it. "Hello? Oh…hello, Father."

Lightning had a bad feeling about this. Her father would never normally call her during school hours. He knew she wouldn't want to be disturbed. He was cool like that.

"Hello, Light, dear. There is, ah, a personal matter I would like to discuss. Could you come to the main building, please?"

Lightning knew right there and then that it was serious. "A-Alright, Father, but what about my classes?"

"Oh, I've already contacted the school. They know about this situation," her father reassured her. "That said, please come, right away. Robert is waiting with the car."

Lightning winced. She would've preferred not riding in the limousine. "Alright. I'll be there shortly."

"Thank you, Light."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, she was seated in her father 's plush lounge. Her meeting with him had been _rescheduled_—honestly, they could do that?—to five in the afternoon, the time when her classes would've been over.

_Three classes down the drain. And Miss Sola was about to discuss trigonometry, too._

Much as Lightning tried to hide it, she was a total sucker for math. Something about the numbers calmed her. Something about how numbers are exact and never-changing.

_I wish my life was like that_, she thought.

_No unnecessary factors like mysterious boys and awful bullies._

Five o' clock sharp, an attendant called her in. She was nervous. What could be so serious that her father needed to call her from school to talk about it?

"Hello, Father." She cautiously entered his office. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

Her father forced a smile. "Well, you see, I have been having trouble with a certain rival company for some time…"

Lightning nodded. She knew all about the notorious company.

"And we have decided to make amends."

"How?" Lightning gasped. This was unexpected.

"Well…"

Lightning had never seen her father so uncomfortable.

"We have decided that you date the CEO's son. And in the future, marry him. I'm sorry, but all the arrangements have been made."

. . .

A minute passed by before Lightning was able to process this.

This was a joke, right? Some sort of sick joke? Or a dream, possibly. She'd wake up soon, right? She'd wake up into a world that made sense.

* * *

Sadly, she did not, and five minutes later she was being carted off to meet with the CEO's son.

She hated this. She absolutely, positively hated this.

For the umpteenth time, she pinched herself. And to no avail.

Lightning was quiet the whole elevator ride. She was quiet in the posh waiting room prepared specially for her.

"…Alright, son, let me introduce, Miss Farron to you," she heard the CEO say.

She decided it was her cue. She stepped out, miserably.

The office was as expensive-looking as her waiting room. She looked around a little bit before deciding to look at her future husband.

As her eyes fell on him, she gasped inwardly.

_Holy shit._

* * *

A/N: I guess you've already made the connection so there's no point explaining. But if you didn't, alright, I'll explain.

Lightning = CEO No. 1's beloved daughter.

Noctis = CEO No. 2's bastard son.

Lightning + Noctis = Company peace.

If that doesn't make sense, then I = JUSHITACHILD

Thanks for reading guys! I hope you keep on reading! Even though I'm really bad at this, hahaha… :depression:

Next Chapter: **A ****Rough Beginning**


	3. A Rough Beginning

A/N: Sup?

Hey there, my awesome readers. The next chapter of I Found You is here! I'm updating rather quickly, aren't I?

:proudexpressionofaklutz:

Anyway, R&R.

Chapter 3: **A Rough Beginning**

* * *

_No. Fucking. Way. It's HER?_

_Holy mother of—it's HIM?_

Lightning and Noctis stood absolutely stock still.

Mr. Caelum looked confused. He expected something intense—knowing his son, though, what he had expected was definitely not the good intense. He had been bracing himself to lose most of the decorations in his office, courtesy of his son.

Watching them stand still, however, seemed worse—there was no telling what either of them might do next.

So Mr. Caelum decided, and rightly so, to leave the room as soon as he can and prolong his life.

"Er…I'll leave you two alone," he said, nervously.

Neither Lightning nor Noctis made any sign or acknowledgement that they had heard him. Perhaps this was for the better. Mr. Caelum hastily stepped out the door.

And time continued to tick by as the two atomic bombs stood a good five feet apart, warily studying each other.

"You! You…what are _you_ doing here?" said Noctis.

Lightning mistook it for an accusation and immediately snapped back, "It's not like I wanted to be!"

_Please. Don't believe me. I want to be here. With you_.

The snappish attitude was a slap to the face to Noctis. However, he determined not to be outdone. "Well, it's not like I asked for you, either. Why of all people did it have to be some prissy stuck-up bitch like you?" he snarled.

_I don't mean that. I've always been looking for you._

"Why you…" Lightning felt that she might have been rude, but that comment had entirely no basis. And she would not tolerate that, minor crushes be damned.

"Hell, I never even wanted to date! But I guess I always get the worse end of the deal, huh?" continued Noctis.

_Hardly_, thought Lightning. _I'm the one suffering here_.

_I'm sorry for what I'm saying. I don't mean them_.

"Your attitude sucks! But I guess that's part of the deal? Ugh! I could do much, _much_ better than to date you," Lightning said coldly. "I would be going to waste, ending up with you."

"_Better_? You could do better than this?" spluttered Noctis, looking at himself. He was damn good-looking, and, in other circumstances, he was actually really cool!

Noctis mentally slapped himself. The, "actually," was not needed. He was damn cool, and boy, did he know it.

"Definitely," replied Lightning icily.

_No. I only want you_.

"Well, bitch/whore/slut, whatever my nickname for you will be," said Noctis, fighting to keep his voice calm. "I'm stuck with you, and vice versa, so there's not much to be done about it! So I suggest you take your attitude and stick it up your asshole, because I am losing my temper."

"Speak for yourself! I'm surprised you can walk around with your humongous head!" retorted Lightning.

"Well, if that's the case, I don't want to talk to you ever again!"

"That's fine by me!"

"Fine!"

"_Fine_!"

And they both stalked out, leaving for separate ways.

* * *

_Shit. I am a total bastard. She didn't deserve that._

Noctis was beating himself up over what he had just done. Farron didn't deserve that. He should never have let his temper flare up like that.

_She hates me. She hates me. She definitely hates me._

Well, this was ironic. He'd finally found the girl he was looking for—learned her name—was actually going to date her—and he'd screwed up. Big time.

He wished he could use his family's billions to go and buy a time machine. Then he'd be able to rewind, and fix everything that he had said. And maybe, get off to a better start.

_Well, this is a fine situation you've gotten yourself into, Noctis. Any more bright ideas? Any more ideals you want to screw up?_

_Shut up_, he told himself. Moping would not get him anywhere. He didn't exactly want to make amends with her just yet—no, that would be the height of foolishness right now, at her current state.

_Who made her that way? Oh, right…_

He'd let things boil over for a little bit. Noctis didn't want the situation to get any worse.

He may be an insensitive bastard, but he wasn't a _stupid _insensitive bastard.

* * *

_What. Is. Wrong with me?!_

Lightning shook her head over and over. She couldn't believe she'd just lost her temper like that. It wasn't like her. She was better than that! And…the worst part…

Try as she might to think otherwise, the guy didn't deserve that. She shouldn't have shouted at him.

The more she thought about it, the stupider she felt.

The things he had said…Oh, god, it was because he was surprised. Not because he was rude or anything. Him calling her a stuck-up bitch was not entirely without basis after all.

_I feel sick…_

She'd finally found him—hell, she was engaged to him—and she _had_ to go and screw things up.

This would not do. Lightning resolved to fix things.

_I'll go find him right now…he went in the opposite direction as me right? So, all I have to do is turn around…_

…

She couldn't move her feet.

_Is this what I've become? At the end of the day, am I really just chicken?_

No, she wasn't chicken. She'd beaten up Sephiroth for god's sake. She'd screamed profanities at her fiancé.

Yet why couldn't she do this? Why couldn't Lightning just turn around, shuffle down the hallway, find Noctis and _apologize_? Would it really be that bad?

…

A nagging doubt inside her told her that yes, it would. _Don't do it. Wait for a little while. He's not going anywhere_.

_Shut up_. Lightning knew he wasn't. Noctis—and she—was under lockdown by the two CEO's. Anything that compromised the shaky, hasty solution would definitely not be allowed. And she had a feeling neither of the two fathers would be lenient.

* * *

This was awful. In so many ways. Both couldn't believe how badly they'd messed up.

And it happened right at the worst time, too.

The moment, they'd gotten their wish, their worst fear happened as well.

* * *

Mr. Caelum went back to the room. Everything was still intact.

He'd heard everything that had been said. He heard the argument, and he heard several curse words.

His bastard son had screamed at his fiancé. The Farron girl had shouted back. It was the first time any girl—any _one _had stood up to Noctis.

Yes, it was a rough beginning.

But they were off to a good start.

* * *

A/N: Horribly short chapter! Hahaha! But I was pressed for time, so, take it or leave it!

I promise the next chapter will be better and will be given more effort. But anyway, deal with this first!

A little more explanation:

Lightning Farron = pink-haired girl Noctis has been searching for.

Noctis Caelum = raven-haired boy Lightning has been searching for.

And they fought.

Thanks guys! You are seriously too awesome. T_T

Next Chapter: **Cars Build Relationships**


	4. Cars Build Relationships

A/N: This is a chapter that I've actually put much thought into, so read and enjoy it! I hope this was worth the sleepless night I put into it…

Chapter 4: **Cars Build Relationships**

* * *

Unbeknownst to Mr. Caelum, Noctis, and Lightning, Prompto had left the moment that the girl had entered the room. He just couldn't believe that it was her. It would be too much of a coincidence if it had really been her.

Yet, he knew by now that there really weren't any coincidences. He'd had his fair share of doubts; but the turns of events in his life had more than proven that there were no coincidences.

Prompto could talk all day about it. Once, as a child, he'd lost his favorite teddy bear on the playground (which, by the way, he had named Balthier). Crying his eyes out, he went back the next day and kicked a random tree—and from the branches fell out Balthier. A magpie had taken him (because of his shiny button eyes) and carried him to its nest on the lowest branch of that tree.

Another time, he'd snuck into their middle school's cafeteria to sneak some laxative into the stew (of which neither Prompto, Noctis, nor Ignis had partaken). As he did so, his ring fell in, and, with it being too risky, he had left it, much against his will. Later on, when he got a serving of the deadly stew anyway—to avoid rousing suspicion—he discovered in his small bowl the ring he had lost.

And another time. He'd read the newspapers one time, and saw on a small portion of the front page a short article about one of his schoolmates receiving an award for singing. He'd wished vaguely that he could meet her—Prompto was interested in music—and when he was walking up the stairs to his room, he'd heard a loud squeal, and the girl in question fell from the upper floor onto the unfortunate Prompto.

He'd learned his lesson by now that there were no coincidences.

Yet, it was hard not to think of this situation as one. For that girl—that _Farron_ girl—unless he was horribly mistaken, which he doubted, was his childhood friend. He'd remembered vaguely in his early childhood living next to a family.

Prompto remembered that there had been a warm, kind mother; a gentle bear of a father; a small, energetic little sister; and a quiet, reserved, pink-haired girl. He was not at all sure; but the family's surname might have been Farron. The pink-haired girl must definitely have been Lightning.

And here she was, betrothed to his best friend.

Lightning Farron…he didn't remember that name. Wait. He recalled faintly a situation in his childhood, wherein he'd asked the pink-haired girl about her peculiar name.

"_It's not really my name. It was a nickname given to me by my baby sister. I suppose she called me that because I always won at out races. My name is Clair. Well, Éclair, actually, but that's a pastry, and a pastry I don't like. So, do me a solid and call me Clair, alright?"_

Clair… Éclair… Éclair "Lightning" Farron. Prompto remembered now. This was definitely his friend. He remembered her rather boyish way of speaking, and although the Lightning now had sounded as ladylike as could be (he'd heard the awful argument), there was an unmistakable air of boyishness there.

This was a really bad situation.

Well, there was one thing to do—when in doubt, find your best friend who's betrothed to your former best friend. Wait, _one_ of your best friends. Damn, he'd always forget about Ignis, that fucker. Then again, it _was_ his own fault that he had to be so busy all the time. No one exactly asked Ignis to go off and be a famous personage.

So, when the argument had finished, Noctis and Lightning—hell, he won't call her that!—Noctis and _Clair_ must have gone off separate ways. There was no way they'd walk together after that bitch fight. (Yes, that argument qualified as a bitch fight, at least according to Prompto.)

Prompto went back to the hallway outside Mr. Caelum's office. There were two separate ways he could take—left or right. Question was, which way had Noctis gone off to?

Prompto scratched his head and thought for a moment. Then he opted to take right—Noctis would never admit it, but he loved everything right. He loved his right hand, foot, eye, ear, leg, arm, all the right parts of his body slightly more than his left side. He sat on the right side of their classroom, he kept all his stuff on the right, hell, he did everything right. So, Prompto rushed down the right side of the corridor.

The right side, however, turned out to be the wrong side.

Running down the hallway, he found, not Noctis as he would've thought, but Clair. _Oh shit_, thought Prompto. Here comes trouble.

He stopped in his tracks and briefly considered running back before she saw him—no, too late, she turned around. She must've been expecting Noctis, because she had a dangerous expression and she looked up for a fight. "Huh? You back for more, you—oh."

Prompto tried for a smile. "Yeah, I'm not your boyfriend. Just some, ah…a guy looking for him. You wouldn't happen to know where he went, would you?"

"Just turn around, and head straight on. He should be there," Clair replied, albeit very quietly and with her head down, like she was embarrassed.

"Thank you," sighed Prompto. He turned around. _Damn, maybe I could get out of this without raising any suspicion about—_

"Wait!"

_Shit. I thought not_.

"Yes?" Prompto turned back to Clair. She looked very agitated. "H-have we met before? You—you look very familiar," she asked.

"Not that I'm aware of," Prompto lied easily. He was not about to reveal that he was her long-lost childhood friend. Why, he didn't know. It just didn't feel right to tell her yet.

"Oh…okay. You just really looked like—you know what, forget about it. Can—can I have your name though?" Clair asked.

"The name's Clark. Clark Anderson."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Anderson. My name is Éclair Farron," Clair said, smiling sweetly. God, he hadn't seen that smile in ages…

_Stop it! You can't go back._

Clair walked away.

Prompto stood still for a few minutes. Then he turned and ran.

* * *

Lightning's thoughts were racing. That guy had looked exactly like her old friend, Prompto. She remembered him clearly from her childhood, a lively boy who lived next door with his family. It might have been years later, but she'd never forget the face of the boy who had saved her sister's life before.

Seems like everybody's saving Serah…but hell, if her sister was safe, Lightning was in no position to complain, was she?

She remembered her sister playing in the pond. Serah had called out to her, laughing—then she'd slipped and fallen. Lightning was helpless—not even her speed could reach Serah before she submerged. Fortunately, Prompto had been nearby. He'd grabbed her sister—pulled her to safety—and smiled at Lightning as thought it had been no problem.

_Great. I owe my sister's life to two guys. One who I thought I'd never see again and one who hates my guts, apparently._

This was too much. Too much had happened in one day—she'd caught a glimpse of the mystery guy, had found him then lost him in a bitch fight (See? Even Lightning thought it was a bitch fight.), and had seen an exact replica of her childhood friend.

_This day just keeps getting better and better_, thought Lightning bitterly.

Everything about today just made Lightning want to cry. She'd never cried before—not when Serah had almost drowned (although she did scream), not when her favorite action figure had broken, not when her favorite character of her favorite cartoon had died. (Lightning _loved_ action series.)

This was too much to handle. Her head ached. She needed fresh air. She went outside the building and stood silently, breathing in the fresh air.

It made her feel a tiny bit better.

Then the whole world pulsed. It throbbed painfully, making everything seem red, then blue, then a sickening shade of yellow.

Lightning doubled over. _Oh n-no… I can't be having one now, can I?_

The unmistakable pains in her head and body told her otherwise.

* * *

"Noctis! Noctis you fuckshit, where are you?" cursed Prompto. He needed to find that gay bitch quickly. His dilemma had to be shared with him.

He walked down the corridor a little more swiftly. His problem was serious. If Clair was really the girl he thought she was, there was something Noctis had to know about her. And _fast_.

Clair had never shared to anyone besides Prompto and her family before, but Clair was horribly ill. Prompto'd forgotten what the condition was called, exactly, but apparently if Clair got too emotional or stressed, she experiences dangerous, coma-like blackouts. And more often than not, it took days for her to wake up.

Prompto knew for a fact she was stressed right now. Who wouldn't be, after a horrible argument with their fiancé? And, if she was really as stressed as he guessed she was…God, this wasn't good. There was no one around her to care for her, as well. If she'd blacked out now…

The thought made Prompto run all the more faster.

Finally, he saw a familiar head of black hair bobbing along the corridor. Considering how long it had been after the huge tantrum, Prompto was surprised at how slow Noctis had been walking, for him to still be in the same corridor.

"Noctis!" Prompto called out desperately. "Noctis!"

The man in question turned around. He had a hollow smile on his face. He looked empty and worn out. "Hey, Prompto. Come to yell at me too?"

Prompto grabbed Noctis' collar and shook him roughly. "Quit the self-pity and listen to me! There's something you should know about Claire!"

"Clair? Who's Clair?"

Prompto cursed himself. Of course. Noctis didn't know Clair's real name yet. He still thought of her as Lightning—wait, did Noctis even know her name? Prompto hadn't heard any real introduction in the bitch fight.

"Never mind. There's something you should know about your fiancée. It's important as hell, so you better listen."

"I wasn't aware you knew anything about my fiancée, and I wasn't aware that you could give me orders, either."

"Shut the hell up, and grow up, Noctis! Listen! Your fiancée is ill! Horribly ill! When she gets too stressed out, she goes into a coma of sorts, alright? She goes into a coma, and it's extremely hard for her to wake up. And she's as sure as _hell_ way stressed out, after going through your bitching!" snarled Prompto.

Formalities could wait. Clair's condition was on the line.

Noctis was silent. He stared at Prompto's gray irises, apparently trying to see if the blond was joking. The blond, however, had never been more serious in his whole life. This was a matter of life and death. The more Clair blacked out, the more her health deteriorated, and if that was the case, then this raven-haired bastard was definitely going to be the death of her.

"So what should I do? It's not like I can whip out a magic wand or something and magically cure her," replied Noctis quietly.

"_Go to her_. Make sure she's okay. If anything happens to Clair, I will personally grab you and put you through a shredder. Then I'll make you a grave, scatter your bits on it, and then dance the shit out of it. _Go. To. Her._"

Noctis was the hella bravest guy on earth (well, maybe, "reckless," was the right word) but he cowered under Prompto's glare. Nevertheless, he looked suspiciously at his best friend. "Why do you care so much about her? As far as I know, you've only seen her today," he asked coldly.

"That's not important. Now go. Every second that we're standing here is another second that Clair could be lying helpless on the ground and slowly dying."

That was all Noctis needed. He ran.

Prompto hesitated only a bit before he ran after him.

* * *

They paused at the lobby, out of breath. Panting, Noctis punched the wall. "Where is she?" he growled.

Prompto looked out the window and gasped. Clair was on the pavement, convulsing gently. "There!" he cried.

Noctis looked out. "Shit!"

They ran outside. "Why didn't anyone help her yet? Are they stupid?" snarled Prompto.

They were still a long way from her. As they ran, they saw a car rushing towards her.

"No," whispered Noctis. Why did she decide to black out in the parking lot, of all places?

He sprinted and lunged. He swept his fiancée into his arms. As he saw the black Cadillac racing towards them, he knew right there and then that this was exactly how he wanted to die—with the love of his life in his arms.

Okay, maybe she was conscious in his dreams, but hell, he'd take it.

He loved her. He kissed her forehead and braced himself.

Prompto screamed.

Noctis closed his eyes.

Lightning stirred.

* * *

A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging like that! But as I've said, I've spent a sleepless night on this, so, eventually, I had to stop writing and go to bed. This is one of my more serious works, though, so I hope you like it!

Oh, and in case there's another need to explain.

Éclair "Lightning" Farron = Prompto's childhood friend, and vice versa.

I hope this make sense!

Next Chapter: **He's Your What?**


	5. He's Your What?

A/N: I finally thought of a plot twist!

* * *

Noctis stirred feebly. He groaned. He couldn't open his eyes at all or move any part of his body. When was the last time he had felt like this? Oh, yeah, that time when Luna caught him and Prompto sneaking around the girl's bath and _Noctis_ was the _only_ one who got caught —

"Ow."

He could suddenly feel again. Other than the mysterious sensation of lying on something soft, the first thing he felt was unexplainable pain. Though he still could not force his eyes open, he felt a tube on his hand, a tube that was actually _in_ his hand. He could feel one of those oxygen masks they placed on the faces of the patients, like in those hospital dramas. Except this time, _he_ was the one being shown.

_Oxygen mask… tube… soft bed… am I in the hospital?_

After about five minutes of trying to turn around on the bed (and failing) Noctis was finally able to open his eyes. He did not expect what he saw.

He was in a completely white space, with no walls or floors visible. He hadn't been lying in a bed at all, there wasn't a mask on his face, and there were no tubes in him at all. As soon as he had opened his eyes, those sensations had vanished and he was standing up, wearing the clothes he had on the day of the car crash — the car crash! What had happened? Were was Lightning?

"Lightning! Lightning! Where are you?" he called around. He started walking, then jogging, then running, but the space seemed to extend forever. Nothing changed, at least nothing that he could see or sense, but he kept on running.

After about twenty minutes of alternating between walking and jogging, Noctis came upon a white blob on the floor. He approached it warily.

"…the hell?"

He went closer and closer. The white blob seemed indifferent to his advances. He touched it cautiously.

The jelly-like substance turned around at once. Noctis was startled to see that it had a face. Not a very detailed one, but nevertheless a face. Now that he could see it, it seemed to resemble a piece of clay someone had poked two eyes in and etched a smiley mouth through.

It bounced and bounced, seemingly not seeing Noctis. He knelt in front of it and prodded it, hard. "What are you?" he asked, somewhat accusingly.

"What do you want me to be?" it replied. Its mouth did not change.

"I want to you to be someone who can tell me _where the fuck_ I am and how I can get out. And where the hell is Lightning?" said Noctis, prodding the blob harder and harder.

The white blob suddenly sprang up and began to stretch. It's white surface began to don new colors, and it seemed to grow features. All at once, the process stopped, and suddenly Noctis was facing an incredible likeness of Prompto.

"Prompto? You shithead, you were here all the time?" accused Noctis angrily, once he had gotten over his initial shock.

The Prompto clone shook its head. "I am not Prompto. I am called Jayka. I guide people who have lost their lives to eternal peace." Then it looked at Noctis distastefully. "But as you are not fully dead yet, I cannot claim you. And as there is nothing better to do to pass the time while I wait for you to die, I might as well answer some of your foolish questions."

Noctis shook his head disbelievingly. "I'm…dead? What…what about Lightning?"

Jayka-Prompto morphed again, and now Noctis was staring at Jayka-Lightning. "I have already claimed the girl for my own. You should be grieving. It was not her time to die. As her soul mate, your actions dictated her fate, as did hers. But while she would have done anything to keep you safe, you endangered her and eventually it led to her demise." Again, Jayka clucked her tongue and sneered at him.

"I-I killed her?"

"If you had listened earlier to your friend, Claire would not have died. You could have pulled her out of the way earlier, thus saving both your lives. But it was not to be. Fate cut both your strings the moment you met her." Jayka looked down sorrowfully. "I must admit I hoped dearly you two would never meet."

Noctis looked blank. "What?"

Jayka glared at him. "Éclair Farron was picked to be the human I would guard. I suppose you humans would refer to me as her 'guardian angel.' It was my duty to keep her away from harm, and in this case… keep her away from _you_."

"I had read her fate. It said that should Éclair ever meet with a raven-haired boy, specifically, _Noctis Caelum_—" here she said the name like it was something disgusting, "—her life would come to an end, unless the boy in question would prove his devotion to her and in turn save her life. But if he fails to do so, her fate string will be cut, along with the boy's as well."

She looked more and more stony as she continued talking. Noctis was feeling worse and worse.

"I knew you were studying at that academy, so when I heard that she was about to send an application there, I interfered as much as I could. I destroyed the recommendation letters, I changed some of the documents, I spread rumors. All in vain. She went on to study there, and she met _you_."

She sighed and looked at him. "But you want to go back, right? You want to try and make things better?"

Noctis wasn't sure he was hearing correctly.

"Answer me."

"Of course I do! I want to apologize to Lightning!"

Jayka tisked and looked at him disapprovingly. "Oh well. I suppose I can't really prevent you from going, seeing as there were orders from above. So, listen up."

She walked straight to Noctis, and on the way, she started morphing again, so now she was in an unfamiliar form. She had white hair, wore a black dress, and had wings with black feathers sprouting from her back. Each wing was about twice as long as Noctis was tall.

She grabbed his chin and forced him to look in her eyes. "If you ever endanger Claire again, I will personally make sure it is the last thing you _ever_ do. Got it, lowlife?"

Noctis wasn't used to being addressed that way, much less being called, "lowlife." But Jayka in her current form was not someone to fuck around with, so he hastily nodded his understanding.

"Good. And one more condition."

She stepped away from him.

"You are forbidden, _ever_, to address Éclair Farron by her birthname, either Éclair or Claire."

Noctis seemed confused at that. "Why would that be a condition?"

"I want to make you miserable. You may not understand why it's a punishment now, but sooner or later you will. Now leave, before I change my mind and bring only Clair back to life. Your time is almost up, so hurry."

"Uh, one question, how exactly do I—"

Jayka stepped back and punched him in the face.

He was out cold before he hit the floor.

* * *

When he woke up this time, he was really in a hospital. He lay in a comfortable bed, and when he looked beside him, he saw the people he most wanted to see.

Sitting beside each other was Prompto and Lightning. The latter looked like he'd been crying, and she was hugging Prompto. At the moment, Noctis was in far too much pain to feel too jealous.

He tried for a smile. "Hey."

At the sound of his voice, Lightning perked up and Prompto looked like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He mouthed one word—"Noctis"—and he and Lightning rose together to swarm the bed and smother Noctis with emotion.

"Hey, hey, I didn't ask for a freaking straitjacket," he complained, but Lightning kept hugging him and Prompto kept thumping him on the back.

"One thing you two have to explain to me though, is what the hell is going on between you two?" asked Noctis.

Lightning looked up. "Oh, that."

"Er…"

"What? Don't tell me the two of you used to date?" At the thought, Noctis suddenly felt cold inside.

"No!" denied Lightning. She looked warily at Prompto. "Well, I guess we're…childhood friends. We used to live next door to each other and stuff, until I moved here."

"Oh."

Prompto laughed. "You thought it was something more?"

"Nah, you could never pick up a girl on your own," chuckled Noctis, earning a mean punch reminiscent of Jayka.

_Wait… Jayka!_

* * *

Thank you to the sexy readers who have reviewed this story, and have put up with my lateness.

You all deserve a much better writer *sniff* I am unworthy to have you read my stories.

REMEMBER YOU ARE ALL SEXY!

Thanks...will try to update my Pokemon story next.

By the way... Jayka = Lightning's guardian angel of a sort and my OC

Sorry for the sloppy chapter

Review? :3


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